Adventures in Solitude
by SarcasticEnigma
Summary: A series of one-shots and dribbles surrounding the Labonair family, if they were alive and in NOLA with Hayley and the Mikaelsons. Based on far too many conversations with my fellow few Labonair groupies on tumblr. R&R!


_**Disclaimer:**_ I don't own _The Originals _or any of its characters. I don't even own Craig Labonair, just this little one-shot to introduce him. This is the first of many (but as yet unplanned) one-shots in a series I'm calling Adventures in Solitude. The title comes from the song by The New Pornographers, and a lot of the lyrics struck me as fitting the Labonair family - especially the headcanons I have for them!

Summary: Hayley calls the boys back to the compound to discuss something important. Note: just assume that Marcel is already back in the good graces of the Mikaelsons (for the moment) and is back to living at the Abattoir with them. This is for lydiaprettymartin.

**_Adventures in Solitude: Craig_**

"So what was so urgent that it couldn't wait until _after_ the meeting with the witches?" Klaus questioned irritably. Hayley scooted forward in the wingback chair, poised to answer when Marcel spoke up.

"Since when are you so eager to meet with the witches?"

"Since it became apparent that our," the hybrid answered, motioning to himself and Elijah, "mother has returned in the body of that last Harvest girl." Marcel's amused face immediately sobered at the mention of the Harvest.

"Cassie, I believe her name was," Elijah interjected. Marcel nodded slowly, arms crossing as he contemplated what their next step should be. He'd never met the famed Ester Mikaelson, but he'd heard stories – oh, had he heard some stories! – and she'd been consecrated on New Orleans soil. If Ester was as powerful as he'd been told and she was now part of the Quarter coven, which meant she'd be using the ancestral magic of the city, she was bound to be the most powerful witch in town.

"She's still bent on killing us, it seems." Klaus smiled sarcastically.

"Um, guys?" Hayley tried, nervously looking over her shoulder. This wasn't what she'd called them home for. She hadn't even wanted Marcel around, not knowing how that'd go over. Did he know about her guest? Did her guest know about Marcel's part in what happened to the wolves? Meeting the Mikaelsons was bad enough but Marcel on top of that? It was a volatile situation as it was, but that was bound to make it worse.

"I can talk to Davina," Marcel interrupted, "see if she knows anything." Hayley rolled her eyes. Seriously? She called them over to discuss something very important and they did this? Talked business, as they always did?

"Are you so certain the little witch will be willing to help? After all, she's not my, shall we say, biggest fan."

"Rarely anyone you come in contact with is your "biggest fan", Niklaus," Elijah stated. Hayley smothered a smile while Marcel just flat out chuckled. Amused, Elijah smiled as his brother sent him a glare. "I'm sure Davina will be willing to assist us," he stated, giving Marcel a pointed look.

The younger vampire nodded and assured them, "Davina'll help." No one wanted more Mikaelson's wandering around the Quarter than there already were, but he didn't dare say that. He'd only just gotten back into the city, after all. No sense in getting his neck snapped and booted out again.

"Good! Now that that's settled, there's also the matter of our father," Klaus added jovially. Marcel stared at him, perplexed. "Oh, didn't I tell you? Mikael is alive as well and in town, also wanting to kill Elijah and I. Perhaps you as well." Marcel sighed and closed his eyes. This day couldn't get any worse.

"Rebekah—!"

"Has been informed of the situation and told to stay away, for her own safety," Elijah interjected. He and Klaus shared a look, knowing that it wasn't just for Rebekah's safety that she stay away but also Hope's.

"Guys!" Hayley exclaimed, forcing them to pay attention to her. "As riveting as listening to you plot the murder of your parents is," she began, causing the Mikaelson siblings to smile bemusedly, "this isn't why I called you."

"Apologies, Hayley," Elijah said, chastised. Klaus, however, just rolled his eyes at his brother. "What was it you needed?"

"Yes, little wolf. Please, regale us," Klaus chimed. "What matter was so urgent that we had to postpone our "plotting"."

Taking a deep breath, she said, "Well—"

"Hey, Andrea, funny story," an unfamiliar voice announce with a laugh. A young man, a werewolf by the smell of him, entered the room and Hayley rose to meet him. Dripping wet and naked, the floral pattern cloth he held together was slung low around his waist. The smile on his face immediately dropped as he spotted the men in the room. "I didn't realize you had guests," he said, directing his attention to Hayley.

""Guests"?" Klaus echoed, chortling amusedly. "Funny, I thought this was my home."

"_Our_ home," Marcel corrected stonily. Klaus clenched his teeth and shared a look with Elijah, who just nodded in agreement with Marcel.

"Yes, _our_ home," he corrected forcefully.

""Andrea"?" Elijah echoed, shooting Hayley a curious look. She just smiled weakly.

The stranger smirked and pointed at them, asking Hayley, "They always this funny?" She let out a forced laugh and tried to diffuse the tense situation.

"Boys, I'd like you to meet Craig Labonair." She could tell the name sounded vaguely familiar but not pertinent to the Mikaelsons. But Marcel, oh Marcel knew that name all too well and immediately paled. Good. "My brother," she clarified. Klaus stared at the man beside Hayley, eyes wide and an inscrutable look on his face. Elijah's eyes squinted as he observed the young man, bringing a fist to his mouth. Hayley gulped as she watched Elijah. While Marcel and Klaus were both tense, Elijah was the picture of calm. Calm Elijah meant one of two things: he was just calm, or a heart was going to be ripped out in a sudden burst of rage. "This is Elijah, Klaus and Marcel," she continued, wanting to move things along.

"Riiiiight. The moral Mikaelson," Craig said, pointing to Elijah before pointing at Klaus. "The hybrid that got my baby sister pregnant." Klaus coughed, failing to cover up a laugh, and ducked his head. Hayley noted he was hiding a smile and was not amused. Neither was Craig, for that matter. "And the bastard who helped massacre our family," he finished, sending a bitter smile to Marcel. Hayley guessed that answered the question of whether or not he knew about Marcel's involvement. It didn't matter that Marcel hadn't killed their parents or even attacked their pack, he hadn't stopped it and then he facilitated the curse on the other wolves. He was involved and responsible in Craig's opinion. "Hey," Craig greeted sarcastically. He raised his hand to wave but his moment of stoic badassery was ruined when the hand he chose to wave with happened to be the one holding the towel. Said towel slipped and nearly exposed him to everyone in the room, but he caught it just in time. Hayley covered her mouth and her shoulders shook trying not to laugh. "You laughing at me?" he asked, amused.

Hayley sobered and seriously answered, "Not at all." Her serious face didn't last very long before it cracked with sputtering laughter once more, Craig joining her.

"Is that the rug from hall in the left wing?" Marcel questioned, effectively ruining the moment as he pointed to "towel" around Craig's waist. The newfound siblings stopped laughing to look from him to the towel in question.

"Um, yeah. Why?"

"Its over two hundred years old," the vampire pointed out, a little peeved. "So is the rug you're standing on." Craig looked down at his bare feet and, sure enough, there was a slight water puddle on the carpet.

Craig shrugged and flippantly replied, "Well, there weren't any towels so…?" Marcel grit his teeth as the werewolf stared at him, refusing to submit or back down.

"Shit," Hayley muttered, wincing. "I hung them out to dry this morning. I'm so sorry!" she apologized, beyond embarrassed. Who lets their brother take a shower without providing a towel?! Craig waved off her concerns.

"Its okay. No big deal, Andrea." Hayley let out a soft laugh.

"I told you—"

"And _I _told _you_," he returned teasingly, smiling at her. Hayley grinned back, shaking her head in amusement. He respected that she chose to go by Hayley, but he refused to call her anything but Andrea since they'd met. It seemed to be an ongoing joke between them. She quickly directed Craig to where the towels were hanging, as well as telling him she'd set out clean clothes for him in a guest room – he'd looked around Josh's size, if not a little smaller. If Josh was wandering around and saw her brother, he'd probably faint…if vampires could faint. "I'll be down in a few then. We can continue catching up," he told her. Hayley nodded and Craig pulled her close and gently kissed her forehead. Hayley tensed as he did so, not used to the contact but Craig had, had no problem hugging her or showing any type of affection. He warned her that Holly and Calvin, her other older siblings, would be far worse than him. Craig left the room then but not before sending a scathing look at the other men.

"So, that's…my brother." It still felt weird to say those words. Her brother. She had a brother. She actually had two brothers, and a sister, and cousins, and all of them were coming to the Quarter to see her. It was surreal. "Oh, and I invited him to stay in the compound with us. For as long as he wants," Hayley informed them with smile that dared any of them to question that decision. "The others, as well, whenever they get here but Craig said some of them probably wouldn't be interested in taking up residence in "vampire central"."

Her elder cousins, Victoria and Cyrus, would probably be more comfortable either at a hotel or in the bayou, he'd told her. The bayou would be more likely but with the other pack there, he wasn't entirely sure. Not to mention, Victoria's husband was human so maybe a hotel would be best. Louis, her last cousin, probably wouldn't care either way and might stay in the compound just to cause trouble. He was mischief-maker and magnet for trouble, Craig warned her, and he had a particular distaste for vampires. Well, most werewolves did but Louis' was almost extreme. There had been too many occasions where a fight with some vampires could have easily been avoided, but Louis would start trouble anyway. Calvin and Holly, her last siblings, Craig said would stay around Hayley no matter what. Like him, they didn't want to let her out of their sight. It sounded overbearing and suffocating but it was something she was willing to put up with because it was her family. The one thing she'd always wanted since she triggered the cure and she was finally getting it, so she wasn't going to start complaining before things got started.

Klaus leaned forward and echoed, ""Others"?"

"Mm-hmm," Hayley hummed with a smile. "My other brother and sister and my cousins, six all together. All my personal guests, so make them feel welcomed," she added, only pleading a bit. "And make sure your underlings don't start trouble," she warned. None of the men said a word, just stared at her with a range of panicked looks that she couldn't fully decipher. Clearing her throat awkwardly, she reclaimed her seat and nonchalantly asked, "So, you were discussing your homicidal parents?" Hayley avoided the looks the three men were giving her, choosing instead to drink her scotch. She was smiling behind her glass, they could all tell. It was something Rebekah had done, often. Hayley had been wrong, thankfully. That hadn't gone as bad as she expected. Of course, it was only day one and one Labonair. Six others were on their way, and two of them remembered the night their family was torn apart very vividly.


End file.
